


saving you, saving us

by latesleeper



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate universe - Mafia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Verbal Abuse, mention of abandonment, potentially triggering content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24145780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latesleeper/pseuds/latesleeper
Summary: Baekhyun was alone, until his father gave him a dog.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Oh Sehun
Kudos: 13





	saving you, saving us

As long as Baekhyun remembered, he had a lonely childhood.

He didn’t remember his mother, only people saying that his mother died while giving birth to him. His father and his much older siblings were barely there for him, too busy handling the family business. The servants at the house were focused on doing their jobs, and the scary looking uncles who always stood guard around the house was out of the question for sure. His days were always the same—he woke up knowing no one was going to play with him, that he would be alone until he went to sleep at the end of the day.

One day, it changed the moment his father gave him something.

"It's a dog," he said.

It was a rather big one, yet skinny looking. It looked way older than Baekhyun, yet its head was ducked low in a submissive way, never once his eyes met Baekhyun. Baekhyun knew something was wrong, but he didn't dare to say anything.

“You don’t have to worry about training him,” his father said. “He will be loyal to you, and he will protect you with all his life.”

“Why?” Baekhyun asked.

“Because that’s his purpose,” his father answered, and left him with no more explanation.

“His name—”

“He doesn’t have a name. He’s just a dog.”

Since then, Baekhyun would go through his day together with his dog, but he barely felt any change despite that. The dog was quiet. He won’t play with him, and just looming around observing him and his playground, like a watch dog.

His father was right—the dog was loyal, but Baekhyun felt that the dog was obligated to do so, not because he wanted to. Not because he respected or even liked Baekhyun as his master.

Baekhyun was determined to change that.

He secretly asked the people around the house—the servants, and even the scary looking uncles—what he should do to make someone like him. One of the answers fascinated him.

“Give him his favorite food. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.”

It sounded like something Baekhyun could do, but he found an obstacle along the way.

He didn’t know what the dog liked.

After giving it a long thought, Baekhyun simply decided to just go to the nearest supermarket and bought some snacks. No one would dislike snacks.

Baekhyun sneaked out of the house through an old, small door that he found in his backyard, hiding among the bushes. It took him a while until he came back home, but he was satisfied with what he got. He was sure the dog would like it.

When Baekhyun arrived at home, it was a chaos.

People thought he got kidnapped because he suddenly went missing and they almost lost their shit. Baekhyun was forced to tell them about his secret door, and they told him not to use that door ever again. He heard their little plan to demolish the door as well, just in case he didn’t obey them.

Baekhyun expected for the dog to remain the same, not feeling anything even when his master went missing.

He was wrong.

The dog was restless, and for the first time, his eyes met Baekhyun and he could see the way it was brimming with worry. The dog was worried about him.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun began, “I just went to the supermarket because I wanted to buy you some food.”

The dog titled his head, clearly confused hearing that.

“I just wanted to be friends with you, and I thought maybe we could learn to do so while eating together,” he explained.

Almost immediately, Baekhyun saw a change in the dog’s demeanor. Baekhyun liked to believe it was because of his words, that it somehow reached him. For the rest of the evening, they were sitting side by side, eating the snacks in silence and Baekhyun thought it was a good first step.

As the time went by, they grew closer, and Baekhyun knew something was changing as well. After years of taking care of him, Baekhyun knew that he still saw Baekhyun as an obligation, but there was something more inside his eyes now.

The first time Baekhyun realized that, he knew he should do something. And now, his plan had worked perfectly, and he just needed to deliver the final blow—

“Young master!”

Baekhyun was too busy overanalyzing things when he forgot to observe his surroundings. He just came back home after visiting an old friend, about to enter the house through the main gate. He forgot the message his father left to him a few days ago.

 _Never lower your guard, people are fighting over higher positions after the fall of the big boss,_ his father warned him.

He heard a little bit about the problem, but he didn’t think it would affect him that much. After all, he’s only the youngest son, not much a threat to other groups compared to his father or his brothers.

Turned out, he was wrong.

The bullet should have gone through him, but instead, he saw a big figure jump in front him, taking the bullet instead. Swarm of people surrounded him immediately.

“Protect the young master!” they yell to each other, but Baekhyun paid no attention to any of it as he fell to his knees.

“No, no, no—” his hands wrapped around the big figure tightly. He knew something like this would happen, knowing how loyal his big lump is. “Why did you do that, you stupid—”

He smiles. It’s the first time Baekhyun has ever seen him smile, no matter how close they were for the past few years.

“I-I’m glad—you okay—” he said.

“Don’t talk,” Baekhyun said in panic, “Just, hang in there, okay?”

Baekhyun never let go of him, and even slept beside him the night after he got operated. His father wasn’t pleased with how his trusted subordinates almost failed to protect his son, that a mere dog he put to watch over his son is doing a better job than them.

“His name is Oh Sehun.”

His father turned his head towards Baekhyun. “What?”

“He’s not a dog. His name is Oh Sehun, and I want you to refer to him by his name.”

His father snorted in disgust. “He's nothing but a nameless dog who got left behind by his parents and only here because he has to pay off their debt. I don't care what his name is.”

Baekhyun was fumed. He took off from the room, back into his master bedroom, rummaged through his wardrobe and back again to the room. He might have thrown the saving book a bit too hard, that his father even flinched a little at that.

“I’ll pay for his debt,” Baekhyun declared.

He should have done this a long time ago, but he was nothing before. Now, he had money that he accumulated for years, doing jobs for various people. He had enough to pay for both debt and interest.

Baekhyun didn’t wait for his father to say anything, and simply left the room again.

That night, Baekhyun was back again in Sehun's room. He expected to see him sleeping, but Sehun was sitting on the bed, staring into nothing.

“I heard what you did this afternoon,” he said.

Baekhyun hummed.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know about the debt?” Sehun asked, “And my name. No one—not me, not even the boss, ever told anyone about it.”

Baekhyun shrugs. “I had my resources.”

“You mafia—”

“It doesn’t matter now. You’re free.”

Suddenly, Sehun grabbed his arms and forced Baekhyun to look him in the eye. “I didn’t ask for you to do that! I’m not worthy of it, I’m just a—”

“You’re not a dog!” Baekhyun yells in rage, “When I was a kid, I had no power and had to oblige everything that father said and wanted me to do. Now that I could stand on my own feet, I refuse to call you a dog again! You're a human, Oh Sehun!”

“But if I’m not your dog, I can’t stay by your side,” Sehun weakly says, “I’m nothing.”

“You are worth much more than you think, Sehun. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise,” Baekhyun cupped Sehun’s face, “And I don’t need a dog to protect me. I just need Oh Sehun, a _human_ with a big heart that always stand by my side when I had no one.”

After so many years, Baekhyun saw a big almighty Oh Sehun, the watch dog that always watched over his back, crumbled in his arms. Baekhyun felt like once again, they were back to the past, sitting side by side eating the snacks Baekhyun sneakily bought, while Sehun tried to hide his face so Baekhyun wouldn’t see him crying.

“You saved me,” Sehun said, “Back then, and now. Thank you, Baekhyun. Thank you.”

The hug that they shared was long and tight, and the love words that they whispered tenderly were enough proof that they won’t let go of each other. From that moment, Baekhyun just knew that he got nothing to be worried about and everything would be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> My friend thought I was making hybrid au and I couldn't stop laughing at that lmaooo.


End file.
